2012 NHL Mock Draft: The Next Ones – 2 Rounds

The actual 2012 NHL Entry Draft is fast approaching on June 22nd-23rd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A plethora of mock drafts are piling in from all hockey circles.

Every year it seems I contemplate whether or not to go through the intriguing yet dubious task of putting together a mock draft. We all know how fascinating it is to go through the process of formulating which team should select which prospect and at what point in the draft. We also know how quickly a mock draft can go off the rails when the actual NHL draft takes place. Whether it be the Phoenix Coyotes going off the board to take a Blake Wheeler or theLos Angeles Kings selecting Thomas Hickey seemingly out of nowhere, one’s mock draft can be wrecked faster than Michael Grabner can do a lap around the rink.

Mathew Dumba: How High Will He Go in the 2012 NHL Draft? (Darren Aucoin/Flickr)

Of course, temptation got the best of me again yet again this season as today’s article embarks on my fourth and final mock draft of the season. Here are my first three best guesstimates based on the timing of the respective mock:

Only a portion of the table displays by default; you can scroll over to see the rest or select “Full Screen” option in upper right hand corner to view the full table.

Ignore numbers on the very left side – this is simply the line number of the spreadsheet; not where the respective team picks.

This is not an attempt to rank prospects. This is mere a “guesstimate” at what teams might choose if they were to draft today based on weighing out best player available with team need and past experiences at the draft table, with an obvious dose of influence from my personal thoughts.

Shots From The Slot column = a quick rationale for the respective picks (comment on this post or ask me on Twitter @ChrisRalphTHW for more in depth conversation on various picks); to view this section you have to scroll over or select “Full Screen” in upper right corner of table.

No trades will be completed during the mock.

For much more information on the NHL entry draft, be sure to check out our live updated draft home page:

1The Colorado Avalanche’s first-round pick will go to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on July 1, 2011 that sent Semyon Varlamov to Colorado in exchange for a second-round pick in either 2012 or 2013 and this pick.

2The Detroit Red Wings’ first-round pick will go to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on February 21, 2012 that sent Kyle Quincey to Detroit in exchange for Sebastien Piche and this pick.

3The Nashville Predators’ first-round pick will go to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on February 27, 2012 that sent Paul Gaustad and a fourth-round draft pick in 2013 to Nashville in exchange for this pick.

4The New Jersey Devils have to forfeit one first-round pick between 2011 (which they didn’t opt to do) and 2014 at their own choice as a result of penalty sanction due to cap circumvention when signing Ilya Kovalchuk.

+ (via NHL.com) “Columbus also could have two first-round picks. They currently have the No. 2 pick and hold an option to take Los Angeles’ pick, which can be no worse than No. 27. The Blue Jackets acquired the rights to the pick in the Jeff Carter trade, and either can take the Kings’ first pick this year or next.”

2nd Round Footnotes:

5The Minnesota Wild’s second-round pick will go to the the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 15, 2012 that sent Anders Lindback, Kyle Wilson and the 202nd overall pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Sebastien Caron, this pick the 50th overall pick and a 2013 3rd-round pick. Tampa Bay previosly aquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 16, 2012 that sent Dominic Moore and a seventh-round pick in 2012 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for this pick. San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011 that sent Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and a first-round pick in 2011 to Minnesota in exchange for Brent Burns and this pick.

6The Calgary Flames’ second-round pick will go to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011 that sent Chris Butler and Paul Byron to Calgary in exchange for Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik and this pick.

7The Ottawa Senators’ second-round pick will go to the Columbus Blue Jackets as a result of a trade on February 22, 2012 that sent Antoine Vermette to Phoenix in exchange for Curtis McElhinney, a conditional fifth-round draft pick in 2013 and this pick. Phoenix previously acquired this pick as a result of a trade on December 17, 2011 that sent Kyle Turris to Ottawa in exchange for David Rundblad and this pick.

8The Washington Capitals’ second-round pick will go to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on February 24, 2012 that sent Marek Zidlicky to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Kurtis Foster, Nick Palmieri, Stéphane Veilleux, a conditional third-round pick in 2013 and this pick. New Jersey previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 28, 2011 that sent Jason Arnott to Washington in exchange for Dave Steckel and this pick.

9The San Jose Sharks’ second-round pick will go to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 18, 2011 that sent Ian White to San Jose in exchange for this pick.

10The Philadelphia Flyers’ second-round pick will go to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade that sent Anders Lindback, Kyle Wilson and the 202nd overall pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Sebastien Caron, this pick the 37th overall pick and a 2013 3rd-round pick. Tampa Bay previously aquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 1, 2010 that sent Andrej Meszaros to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.

11 The Nashville Predators’ second-round pick will go to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on February 17, 2012 that sent Hal Gill and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2013 to Nashville in exchange for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney and this pick.

12The Boston Bruins’ second-round pick will go to the Colorado Avalanche as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011 that sent John-Michael Liles to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for this pick.[24] Note: Pick may be optioned to the Washington Capitals, see below. Toronto previously acquired the pick as the result of a trade that sent Tomas Kaberle to the Bruins in exchange for Joe Colborne, a first-round pick in 2011, and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Boston reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals – was converted on May 27, 2011.

13The San Jose Sharks will receive the 25th pick of this round (55th overall) as compensation for not signing 2007 first-round draft pick Patrick White.

14The Los Angeles Kings’ second-round pick will go to the Dallas Stars as the result of a trade on February 16, 2012 that sent Nicklas Grossmann to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a third-round pick in 2013 and this pick. Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 23, 2011 that sent Mike Richards to Los Angeles in exchange for Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and this pick .